Wednesday Book Review/ Promotion - PLUS The Author Speaks!

The Architecture of Community -
by Leon Krier 
(see video below)

Is there an art to building cities?

Do modernist towns have the same beauty and aesthetics as historical buildings?

Does the extraordinary technical and scientific inventiveness of the industrial age have a parallel in its architecture and urban planning?

Leon Krier addresses these questions and more in his book, The Architecture of Community. Despite America’s immense achievements in the areas of law, science and technology, modern urban planning in the United States has remained uninspired. Our public spaces languish in shocking contrast to the seductive comforts of our homes, and American development has laid waste to the natural landscapes and culture in our cities.

Throughout much of the world Krier is widely acknowledged as one of the best known and most provocative architects and urban theoreticians of our time, but his unique perspective is not readily recognized or understood in the U.S. His latest written work is The Architecture of Community and explores Krier’s visionary planning philosophy. Now available for an American audience, it offers a cure for the problems of modern urbanism and a practical, contemporary road map for the creation of livable towns.

Best known for his design for the highly influential town of Poundbury in England as well as the Krier House and Tower in Seaside, Florida, Krier has designed and consulted on projects all over the world. Commissioned by the Prince of Wales in 1988, Krier’s design for Poundbury in Dorset has become a reference model for ecological planning and building that can meet contemporary needs.

Today more than ever, with our cities becoming increasingly congested and natural resources rapidly depleting, it is necessary to find innovative, sustainable ways to build and rebuild our urban communities. In The Architecture of Community, Krier provides detailed drawings and images of his built work to illustrate his theories on classical urbanism and architecture, while providing practical guidelines for creating attractive, livable towns. The book outlines a diagnosis and a cure, a critique and a project. Until now, Krier’s ideas have circulated mostly among a professional audience of established architects, city planners and academics. The Architecture of Community is more accessible to the public, encouraging and illustrating a common-sense approach to urban planning.

Leon Krier is one of the best-known—and most provocative—architects and urban theoreticians in the world. Until now, however, his ideas have circulated mostly among a professional audience of architects, city planners, and academics. In The Architecture of Community, Krier has reconsidered and expanded writing from his 1998 book Architecture: Choice or Fate. Here he refines and updates his thinking on the making of sustainable, humane, and attractive villages, towns, and cities. The book includes drawings, diagrams, and photographs of his built works, which have not been widely seen until now.

“This is the compendium of common sense that has flowed from Leo's pen for over forty years. From first to last, none of it has aged; and none of it will age. It is the one indispensable book on urbanism.”

-Andres Duany co-founder of the Congress for the New Urbanism

“Long the inspiration of new urbanists, Léon Krier''s work, now comprehensively gathered in this book, is still the best guide for designing buildings and communities.”

-Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk co-founder of the Congress for the New Urbanism

“More than ever Krier has every right to claim our attention. We need him, in fact, as never before. He presents us with the lessons, if we would but take them, that come out of rediscovery. He celebrates the values that are knowable.”

-Robert A.M. Stern from the book's foreword

"No architect has explored architecture's claim to universality better than Léon Krier, and it is this which makes him the most controversial figure of contemporary architectural culture."
-Demetri Porphyrios

LECTURE ALERT!
I have it on good authority that Leon Krier and Dhiru Thadani will be speaking at the ACSA conference at the University of Hartford on October 8 and 9, 2010.

VIDEO EXTRA!

 All Star Cast Lecture At The University of Miami:

About the Author:

Born in 1946, Leon Krier is one of the most influential architects teaching and writing today. He has taught architecture and urbanism at the Royal College of Arts in London, and in the United States at Princeton University, Yale University, the University of Notre Dame, and the University of Virginia. He has worked extensively in Europe and North America and is currently consulting on projects in Guatemala, Romania, England, Belgium, Italy, France, and the United States. In 2003, he received the inaugural Richard Driehaus Prize for Classical Architecture.

 The Architecture of Community By Leon Krier 
Island Press, 472 pages. Retail: $50.00 Amazon: $40.00